The Fox and the Wolf
by Unfortunately Freckled
Summary: Sasuke is ordered to kidnap a demon spirit who drives him pleasantly insane. [SasuNaru]
1. Legato

The Fox and the Wolf.

Chapter one: Legato.

_Author's Note:_ Haya! It's my first Naruto story ever and I'm all a flutter. The spell checker and I are currently at odds, for it seems to think in its cold, mechanical brain that over half of my story is grammatically incorrect. I know it probably is, but it points out my mistakes so cruelly, underlining them in loud, vibrant Christmas colors. Gross, the gobstopper I just ate tasted terrible—like soda past its prime. Oh, review please! Really, don't be like me and just read a story and go "hay, that didn't make me puke." And then just click the 'x' with no regard to the author whatsoever. I am selfish sometimes, sorry, don't repeat my mistakes! Please forgive me if I spell crappily. Sometimes I make up my own words (i.e. crappily) and the dastardly spell checker doesn't pick them up and go with the flow as a lovely little robot should. I need a beta reader, desperately. I will give them everything I have on my computer desk: a hairbrush, pen, sharpie, two glasses of tea(that are still full and just a little watered down), some weird wire that's probably important to this mechanism, and a rock painted pink.  
If you find something that doesn't fit your fancy in my story, I just ask you censure kindly and don't condescend because arrogance to me is the nastiest human trait. I don't mind if you take apart my hack-hack spelling but just keep in mind I know it's awful and my similes are sometimes a little gaudy—But so is Paris Hilton. (And she's famous.) ((hurrah.)) I can't ever write short author's notes, my b. Enjoy!

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-- 

Itachi Uchiha was said to be the most persuasive man alive, and it was debated whether he was a man at all. It seemed with his stoic, pallid face (always dangerously vacant of any sensation) and his poised walk (that made many wonder if there were really two feet hobbling beneath that dark cloak) that he was hardly an awkward human like the rest of the world . However, it was his profound garnet eyes that had most deliberating his orientation. The few whom had been close enough to catch a glimpse of the elusive ruler had said they'd made sure to avoid eye contact at all costs. Only two men residing in his domain were known to have stared Itachi directly in the eye. Only one voiced the encounter.

The man had been a philosopher whose sturdy ideals had countered those of the _Great Book_. He was at first like an aggravating, but humble, pest droning on and on in his aged cracked voice about radical nonsense on street corners. Slowly, however, he molded into a terrible liability as he gathered several angry followers weary of the _Great Book's_ severe doctrine. They rallied and shouted in the villages, burning copies of the sacred book, all filed behind the fiery-eyed philosopher. Those not involved huddled anxious in their homes, fearing that the believers of the _Great Book_ would be next in the fire. Itachi took swift and silent action.

It was the night after a particularly boisterous meeting that every man, woman, and child that had participated in any of the man's teachings went missing. Uchiha's people awoke to barren houses; whole families missing as if they simply had faded away. Upon closer inspection, plates could still be seen set on tables, the food spread out on them collecting flies. Wives went to sleep with the tepid comfort of their husbands beside them, only to awaken to the cold, emptiness of the other side of the bed. There were no indications of a struggle, no blood to suggest murder—not a thing was out of place but the people themselves.

At midday, a mangled man stumbled down from the Uchiha mansion, which rested upon an imperious hill, and fell flat into the village before it. A crowd swarmed the figure and gaped at the state of the once magnificent philosopher, his stately clothes plastered repulsively in crusting, brown blood. In response to a query regarding his well-being, he shouted in a strained voice that sounded as if it was shredded by his very vocal chords.

"I killed! I killed! Those ruby eyes held me and killed them, through me—with me—not me, but me. Not me, not me, not me!" He raved, clawing at his flesh as if it were putrid. "He was under me—no, in me—in me! He was me! I was—I was—I was just a puppet! Please, just a puppet, nothing more—Please, please, please—I didn't…Did I?"

He then proceeded to shout maniacally, tearing at his skin more fiercely until he was finally restrained by a few sturdy villagers. He instantly slumped into their arms. His eyes turned slowly to a vacant house with the candle on the kitchen table still burning from last night, left to be put out by the draft. He sputtered, eyes watering, "Itachi Uchiha really is—the most persuasive man alive." Then he fainted and died hours later lying in the bed of a generous villager, just as silently as he was taken.

After that day, no man dared to look into Itachi's eyes.

There had been only one other person to witness the wrath of the formidable ruler's eyes and live to tell the tale and that lone person was currently in route to encounter them for the second time that day. Sasuke Uchiha was definitely not thrilled in the least bit to be called on by his older brother. It always meant some sort of outside disturbance was pestering the man and Sasuke was to bring what ever the irritation was to the mansion so Itachi could massacre it as he saw fit. Inside, no man could know what Itachi _really_ did to his victims; he could've been drowning them in a vat of chocolate pudding for all his people knew, but that was the key to the supercilious man's power: mystery and ignorance. All his anxious subjects knew for sure was that he had only killed two people with his own two hands: his parents. The rest of those whom had vanished into the mansion and had never come back out again, were presumed missing—however doubtful it may be that they would turn up again.

Sasuke softly knocked at the black oak doors of his brother's study and pushed his way through into the ominously pleasant space. This room was reserved for private meetings with diplomats and was thusly sculpted to appear cozy and inviting. However, his older brother was anything but a 'cozy' and 'inviting' person, and just like everything else in the cold, cold mansion, the room darkened with just his presence. The walls were painted dim turquoise colliding with the fierce scarlet carpet almost distastefully. A few regal book cases were erected magnificently in the corner, but the dusty books' spines were as stiff as the day they were first authored. A glorious black marble fireplace dominated the back wall under a portrait in an opulent, gold picture-frame. In the center of the room, an ostentatious round table stood with three chairs pulled up to it—in them sat his ever-commanding brother, a portly man with glossy, overly-tanned skin and a triple chin, and a lanky guy with a trimly cut gray and black beard. Both were dressed too frayed to be any diplomats Sasuke had ever met.

"Sasuke," Itachi hummed in his silky baritone and motioned to the two men, whom by their calm statures, were unaware of the monster sitting so close beside them. "We have two friends who have found us a person of interest."

Sasuke frowned. Itachi delighted in playing inane mind games with his little brother and Sasuke despised him all the more for it. This was a display of power, illustrating the fact that Itachi held all the knowledge of this 'person of interest' and the only way to find out who it was, was to ask.

"Who?" Sasuke gave in, but had long since perfected his facial expressions and vocal pitch to not portray it.

"A demon spirit." The flaxen firelight emanating from the guttering fire behind the table seemed to have affixed itself to the side of Itachi's wan face, making his eyes dazzle like hot embers.

"Where?" Sasuke queried evenly, disregarding his brother's wicked little mind games briefly. _A demon spirit…_ _They're so extraordinary! _He processed. _With just one at our side, we could claim the entire eastern territories and respond to the threats from the north but…It would also give Itachi more power then he should be allowed. _

"In the village hiding in the leaves!" Piped the plump man, clearly ecstatic at the prospect of having valuable news, or possibly the prospect of the value of his news. Sasuke's eyes narrowed on the man.

"Konoha," corrected the taller man sternly.

"Yeah, whatever, it's the same thing." The round one said, miffed. "Anyway, we was in _Konoha_ just a few weeks back and we was just selling some stuff, you know, 'cause we is traveling salesmen." Sasuke winced at the grammar being hacked and marred right in front of him. He'd supposed he was spoiled by typically receiving eloquent and quite educated diplomats and not—well, two wandering idiots whom probably sold faulty cleaning supplies.

"Well, anyways, we was trying to sell this ol' man some cheap and durable cleaning supplies when all of a sudden, there's this big 'boom' like somethin' blown up or somethin'. So, we, me and Terrance that is, goes out to see this—well, I'll be dammed if I isn't tellin' the truth, but we saw this kid in the middle of the streets, which were all busted apart 'cause they is wood and all—but this kid was glowing red. Glowing, I mean glowing! And just as I am about to go catch a good look at em' when all of a sudden there's another explosion 'cept this one didn't shake the ground. Some idiot had gone and thrown a smoke bomb."

"What did the child look like?" Itachi asked, his voice soft and potent.

"Well," The stout man scratched absently at his balding spot. "I isn't so sure 'cause they was glowing red and all and I couldn't really figure out what color it had and I'm not even sure if it was a boy or a girl. Pretty sure it isn't an adult though… I caught a glimpse of a woman holding it though, trying to take it away and all, and she had the biggest knockers I've ever--"

"It had a scar." The sudden emergence of the lean man's quiet voice almost made Sasuke jump. "On its right palm, a long scar stretching from its thumb to its pinkie. The hands were small and weak looking and it made me think of a girl. A blonde woman carried her—or he—away before the smoke cleared."

Sasuke was astonished by the articulate diction of the thin man's sentences that contrasted his partners. He was almost compelled to shake the man's hand heartily and give him a good pat on the back to encourage him to teach his friend a little bit about language and its functional rules.

"I eh—"The chubby man's face faltered slightly. "I didn't sees that but—I sees it was a kid and that woman could've been his momma."

"Did you not question anyone after the event to see who it was?" Sasuke inquired mockingly, miffed at the stupidity of the pair. Really, who wouldn't ask about something as bizarre as that?

"Of course so!" exclaimed the fat man, clearly offended. "But they acted as if nothing happened. They blamed it all on a fire jutsu gones wrong, but I knows better then to believe that shit. They's lying."

Sasuke looked to his brother but knew better then to find any reaction to what the man just said on his face. His head was resting on his knuckles and Sasuke knew behind those emotionless red eyes, a plan was being fabricated.

"Are you two the only souls not residing in the village whom know of this incident?" Itachi questioned.

"Yep! I thinks so!" The plump one chimed. Sasuke almost flinched at his eagerness. He knew the perilous connotation behind that seemingly innocent query.

"Good," Itachi purred, as if praising a small child. "Sasuke, will you kindly show them to the people who will properly reward them? Then you should prepare for your long trip."

Both men stood up hastily, their eyes alight with an enthusiasm. Sasuke felt as if something in his stomach had erupted and all his insides were melting as he watched the men smile cheerfully. They were probably just desperately poor and looking for anything to pay for food. They had probably thought that tonight was going to be the first time in a long time their stomach wouldn't grumble before they laid down to sleep. They had probably thought they were going to escape rich men—They had probably thought they were going to get out of it all alive and well. No one would miss them…No one at all.

"Of course." Sasuke replied, feeling his insides relapse to ice as he marched these men to their death.

* * *

-- 

"How are you feeling?"

"……"

"Come on—sometime you're going to have to talk to me."

"……"

"What? No nasty little retort? No 'old hag'? No 'grandma'?"

"……"

"I do have to admit—you're at your best when you're silent."

"…..Hag…."

Tsunade smiled softly at the boy sitting in front of her. He had untidy but glossy blonde hair and a petite, cute mouth and nose. His eyes were wide and a brilliant, clear shade of blue with a slight feral look to them. His adorable face currently, however, was scrunched into a pout which was made complete with his arms, bandaged from his forearm to his hand, folded across his blinding orange t-shirt.

"Is that anyway to speak to the generous and magnificently beautiful woman who just patched up your arms? Hmm Naruto?" Tsunade said, leaning forward across her desk to peer directly into his eyes. Naruto unconsciously rubbed the white fabric swaddled around both his arms.

"I didn't need your help." Naruto huffed, thrusting his chin upwards. "I fall out of trees all the time!—And it only takes a day or two for all my scratches to heal."

"Is that so?" Tsunade said in a subdued voice as she lowered her eyes onto her clasped hands. . Honestly, she didn't want to go into this, not now anyway--not just two fresh months after the incident.

_It's probably still healing itself_, she thought, looking solicitously at his bound arms. _It took a great deal of power to just revert to it's original form, let alone—_

"It was really weird this time though." Naruto's boisterous voice hacked her ordered thoughts to pieces. His presence often did this as well. "I was climbing that really tall one just to the right of that fat geezer's store—and I was almost halfway up it too—when I sort just got, I dunno—tired I guess."

Tsunade sighed. "Maybe you should take it easy."

"Why?"

A precarious flash dashed across her face as she regarded him sternly. "You know why."

There was a pause as Tsunade's words drenched him and she figured his little brain was slowly churning and fitting pieces together.

"I could climb trees before." Naruto declared, his voice betraying an unstable emotion that he was blatantly attempting to hide—seemingly as if it were made of small jagged mountains that began crumbling with every pressing word. Tsunade watched him sadly, her forsaken maternal instincts beseeching her to gather him into her arms and hug away his troubles. _Who else would?_

"And the villagers didn't look at me like they do now." He persisted, staring fixedly at his hands.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly, but she continued to gaze on at her calm hands. "Let's not get into this."

The blonde boy jolted up suddenly. "Why? I don't understand why you won't tell me anything!"

"It is my responsibility," she said solemnly, but with the frame of impatience, "to protect everyone in this village. That is not only limited to the hundreds of mild-mannered villagers, but also expands to fit in your rambunctious self. If I told you what happened that night, you could not only become a terrible hazard to this village but also to yourself and anyone directly affiliated with you at all." For some reason, she couldn't find it in her to look up and shift the awful glower she currently was directing at her hands to him.

"But why!" He howled, outraged. "Why? Why? Why? It doesn't make any sense! How can I protect myself if I don't know what's going on?"

"You don't." She stated resolutely, glancing up to meet his eyes. "You let us take care of that."

Naruto growled and glared fiercely at her; his bright blue eyes becoming sharp thin diamonds. "I don't give a damn anyway!" He hollered furiously. "I don't need any of you assholes to protect me! I can do just fine by myself!" And in an angry frenzy, he stormed to the door and hurled it open violently, its hinges wailing as it slapped viciously against the wall.

"Wait." Tsunade insisted softly, her eyes falling back to her laced fingers. She couldn't look him in the face. _Why?_

"What?" Naruto demanded crossly, pausing in the threshold of the office.

"Please," Tsunade pleaded quietly, "just be careful."

The stillness following her concerned words drowned out the heated haze that had consumed the office so suddenly. Tsunade and Naruto had both frozen in their respected spots, but the world outside the grand window behind her kept living and moving. The radiant midday sunlight spilled in and composed small flaxen ponds upon the carpet; blue birds dashed by and landed elegantly on the arms of the trees. Things were as they always were…but not.

Naruto twisted his head over his shoulder, pocketing his hands in the process, and flashed Tsunade a great, amiable grin.

"Don't worry. If worst comes to worst, I'll just slug the assholes and climb up a tree." He left, shutting the door behind him and locking all the static emotions that had been shed in the room with her. She sighed.

Truth be told, Naruto bewildered Tsunade to no end. He seemed so impendent, as if he had stood alone for so long that it was only natural that he did for himself with out the aid of others. But, he released such a perplexing aura, like that of a lost child searching frantically for their parents—like someone so needed, but not necessarily wanted, they required the protection. Also, he was just so plain naïve and clumsy. He was constantly falling out of trees and calling the wrong people 'asshole' and just seriously pissing off half of the village until they needed the protection themselves. Naruto never willingly accepted help; Tsunade had literally been compelled to drag him in by the scruff of his bright orange collar just to patch up his marred hands and arms.

She felt herself smiling as she returned to the forgotten work on her desk. _Naruto is truly a breathing paradox, _she mused. _Something that can't fall into any one category---Something wild and undefined. _She put her pen to the paper, but her hand remained still. She set it back down with a sigh and turned around in her chair to watch the vibrant green summer living and guarding Konoha against the austere winter.

_Something that shouldn't exist. _

--

_

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_

--

Naruto was currently huffing--a verb that here means he was shooting air through his nostrils audibly and that his face was crumpled into a tight pout , so he seemed like a goaded bull as he stomped through the streets of Konoha. The villagers darted this way and that, desperately avoiding his furious path, which wasn't completely out of the ordinary, but was further amplified by his vicious appearance. His huff lessened slightly as he watched their frail attempt to evade him inconspicuously. Once, they had ignored him completely, too caught up in the rushing bustle of their own every day lives to acknowledge his. But ever since that incident two months ago, one which he couldn't remember at all, they had urgently skirted away from him, like fish skimming away from the slightest disturbance in their water. _Damn them for not telling me, _He thought fiercely, remembering Tsunade's silence. He stared into the frightened eyes _…Damn them for running… _(Cursing had always helped to ease the intensity of situations for him. One good 'shit' made many things seem less threatening. )

He had once simply desired their attention and respect to fill the small void in his chest he had lugged all his life. When someone praised him, he felt---well, he couldn't really find the word for it. He had always just called it warm. Now, however, he would do anything to retrieve their indifferent attitudes, because where their constant ignorance made him feel bad, their new frightened stares made him cold, as if the very hole he had wished to fill with warmth were freezing over.

He felt a chill scuttle down his arms as he passed three old women sitting on a bench in front of a store. They were whispering loudly and their narrowed eyes were fastened to his every movement.

"—Shouldn't be here—"

"---Take it away---"

"-----Monster-----"

He bolted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Everything was calm and warm in the forest and that's what had drawn Naruto in ever since he was a small child. Sometimes he would train, throwing kunais at the tree to correct his terrible problem with accuracy (which he would never admit he had in the first place) and exercise, trying to generate large, ripping muscles on his thin arms(which he would never admit weren't there in the first place). Usually, animals padded out from the greenery to watch him with wide, curious eyes. They had always seemed to like him or consider him great entertainment, particularly the smaller ones like cats and foxes. He loved the feeling of their attention and he'd often talk to them, something he would do even with a wall if there was something to discuss. Lately, he didn't train. That didn't modify the animal's ritual of watching him, however, and they still lined up to gaze at him inquiringly. Some of the animals had even taken cautious steps towards him to sit near him, but they never got too close. Naruto figured he must smell terrible for everyone to not want to be near him.

He also enjoyed climbing trees but as to why he never fully examined. Sometimes he did realize that when he lounged in their thick spindly branches that he felt hot all over. Not the heated hot that he endured after severe training, but a different hot—one that brewed in his stomach and raced through his arms and legs. He remembered thinking once that the arms of the tree resembled a person, and it was almost as if he was being embraced. He had suddenly felt all the blood rush to his cheeks with the wayward embarrassing thought, and he denied any other awkward ponderings on what the trees seemed like. (Except for the one time he had found a branch that had looked like a fat naked man clad in a thong. That had been the one and only exception.)

Today, he concluded on climbing the tall tree he had initially fell out of. So, with an attentive audience of furry creatures, he waddled up the bark and made it to the highest branch by sunset. He lazed against the trunk, his feet hanging idly on either sides of the arm. From this elevation, he could clearly see the long pink yarn clouds that mantled the sky and the dark orange sun that slowly melted away into the grass below, secreting its last dying traces over Naruto's village.

Konoha was made entirely out of wood, everything from the main public building, which was erected magnificently in the center of town, to the streets people trod on every day. Every structure was also built to resemble extended cylinders which were employed to create the illusion of massive tree stumps. It was an ancient technique the original builders used to protect the feeble village because Konoha was too small to engage in war and claim its own independence. Its existence was known to everyone now, but no one seemed to desire a diminutive village that had quite a few powerful allies. Its secret power lay in its devious politics. Naruto and the other children had been taught that crucial lesson since they could first talk: Power didn't lie in the size, but the size of the friends.

Naruto began his descent, realizing that he needed to use the last flaxen threads of the day to guide his way out of the mystifying forest. He was just below the green canopy of the other trees when he suddenly heard the hushed sound of voices resonating softly against the trunks.

"We will stay outside the village tonight. Tomorrow we'll begin our search. Sleep in stealth until dawn. Understood?"

Silently, Naruto crept lower until he spotted the tops of a dozen or so men—or rather, boys about his age. He leaned forward eagerly, hoping that this was some secret meeting dealing with some secret political contacts that he could save Konoha from and become a gloriously respected, and definitely not feared, hero. But before he could observe these men's faces more closely in the fading sunlight they suddenly---vanished. He blinked his eyes several times vigorously and then rubbed them for good measure. But sure enough, they were gone.

--It was about this time when Naruto realized he had let go of the tree branch he'd currently been clutching. His balance difficulty swiftly caught up with him and he teetered perilously a few times until finally toppling over the side. He plummeted downwards, all the while delicately thinking _'shit shit shit.' _He blacked out on impact.

He awoke moments later, his tender head throbbing. He lifted his hand to clasp his aching temple, but found his head face first into something warm and hard. He bound up immediately and discovered he was sitting on the torso of a man.

"This is a highly debatable position." A reflective tenor rumbled beneath him and Naruto looked straight into two smirking, black eyes.

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(A quick, but probably not) Author's note: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the grammar, I suck this------------------ big. Please review, I need it more then I need Trivial Pursuit Pringles, which I need pretty bad right now. I've proofread but eh eh eh---I have a difficulty with commas. I just scatter them like seeds and expect them to grow grow grow. I love you, please review. (The cliché is my enemy, but I think I befriended him a few times. Sorry, sorry, sorry) ((I also am having trouble formatting this. Helpp! Beta, too. Help!)

_--Jane._


	2. Accelerando

**The Fox and the Wolf**

**Chapter two: Accelerando.**

_Author's note (that will stay short, damn it):_ I'm so sorry for the lengthy wait. I was drafted to be assistant stage manager for our school's dreadful portrayal of _Oklahoma _and for the past week I've been gagged with terribly witty songs like "I'm just a girl who cain't say no" and "Pore Jud is daid". My one vital job was to turn on the fog machine and –sob-it malfunctioned. (Aka: I forgot to plug it in.) So, I ruined the entire dream ballet, but hey—It's over and I made sure everyone felt better about their positions in the play with my inconsequential part. (**Ps**: Oh my god, I'm watching Naruto right now and I can just feel the Sasuke/Naruto tension oozing off of them. I quote from the American dub: Naruto; "Even someone like you screws up sometimes." Sasuke: "I'm going to screw you." There was a little more to it, but I cut out the unnecessary context words. ) **Pss**: I hate the word merchant. I just do, so I absolutely refuse to use it. I'll use salesman instead, just because I detest it so much. **Psssss:** I'm not going to add '-san' and '-chan' to the end of names 1.) Because they're obviously not in Japan and in a completely different culture that have their own language requirements and 2.) I don't know Japanese and would prefer not to offend any of the Japanese persuasion by hacking up their lovely customs. Enjoy! )

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- 

Sasuke was fit to scream by the time his party and he had reached the village hiding in the leaves; Konoha. It had taken a month and a half of foot travel and a week on a train to accomplish this, spent in the company of a horde of absolute idiots. They had chatted for weeks and weeks about inconsequential things Sasuke could truly care less for, always inquiring his opinion and attempting to carry him into conversation. But Sasuke did not converse with those lowlier then him, what would it prove but to empower them to believe they were something more then they were? He felt a sort of liberation the day he stepped into the forest that encased the village—he was half a step closer to dropping their companionship and retreating back into his self-inflicted solitude.

They had situated their camp deep in the dim woods and camouflaged it to seem like a typical band of gypsy salesmen. The only difference being the pack of weapons that could be seen jutting slightly out of one of the tents. Sasuke had addressed his lovely companions, and then desperate to escape, ventured out to inspect the village. But a man from his party, one whose name Sasuke had never cared to learn, called out to him.

"Oy! Sasuke ,sir," The boy said, lifting his head up from his languid lounging position against a rock. "I was walking around in there and I heard something in the trees. From the sound of their scuttling, I think it was a human male."

_Surely Konoha isn't guarded, _Sasuke wondered. He sighed, feeling his beloved privacy slide through his fingers and slip off into the draft, eluding him once again.

"Then I suggest we take a walk together."

And so, followed by half-a-dozen morons, Sasuke marched forward into the myriad trees, halting when he too heard the echo of a body scurrying in a tree. His hand slowly sank to his belt where a kunai waited to be thrown. The dank air, caught in the thick foliage, congealed in their throats as they remained still to evaluate their enemy. For some unusual reason, Sasuke felt abnormally tense. A dash of uncertainty slinked down his spine. _What is this feeling? _

"Sir—" Another nameless man murmured. "I think it's just a kid climbing trees."

A strap seemed to loosen around Sasuke's air pipe and his hand left his weapon. He still felt slightly off. _What is this odd sensation? _

"We'll stay outside the village tonight." He declared, recognizing it was too dark to really venture into the territory. "Tomorrow we'll begin our search. Sleep in stealth until dawn. Understood?"

He watched as they rapidly darted off, deciding that he would conceal himself and wait for the person to come down so he could obtain a proper look. The previous feeling had unsettled the young leader, and he wished to see who could provoke such awareness in anyone.

But before he could select a proper hiding spot, Sasuke unexpectedly felt something considerably larger then an acorn plummeting from the sky. Being trained to measure the differences in air current, he generally knew when to step out of the way if something heavy was preparing to land on his head—but, in one unusual moment of hesitation, he felt that current of improbability—as if a winding snake was looping through his veins—and he froze. With a thump, the mass collapsed on top of him and he descended unceremoniously to the ground beneath it.

When he opened his eyes he immediately snapped them shut again for an unsightly orange heap overwhelmed his vision. Without forewarning, the bright blob shifted and groaned, and Sasuke grudgingly looked up. Splayed on top of him was a petite boy about his age with cluttered blonde hair, wearing an intense-look-at-me orange shirt. Sasuke's first reaction was to lug him off, but he halted himself when the boy opened his eyes. Blinking curiously down at him were two dazzling topaz jewels that seemed to be traced by innocent, careless fingers. Sasuke was compelled to act satisfactorily; he couldn't compromise the mission. _Besides,_ he reassured himself, _I have to gain the village's trust to pilfer their communal secret. _

So, instead of heaving the kid off contemptibly, he grinned and stated, "This is a highly debatable position."

The boy's eyes widened comically and he bolted up, bandying an accusing finger in Sasuke's face.

"Who the hell are you?" The boy bellowed, in one of the most strident voices that had ever reached Sasuke's tender ears. The loveliness of the boy's eyes diminished drastically as his amiable smile fell. His acting skills were exceptional, for he had to learn to deceive the most probing of eyes, but he felt them shedding off of him like rotten skin. He stood up, dusting the dry leaves off his shorts in doing so.

"Most civilized people apologize after falling all over someone." Sasuke confirmed crisply, feeling his pleasantness sour.

A bright blush dusted the boy's cheeks. "Shut up! If you hadn't of been sneaking around in the forest like a dumb thief then maybe you wouldn't have distracted me and made me fall!"

Sasuke sighed, fighting to keep his tongue in check. He couldn't endanger his mission, so he instead adorned a friendly face and smiled. "My apologies, then." He finished brushing himself off and stood up completely erect. He discovered he was about a head and a half taller then the boy.

_Runt…_

"Liar!" spouted the blonde boy audaciously. Sasuke felt the small tether his patience was teetering on ripping. Stepping forward boldly, he held out his hand and offered a grin he felt was so saccharine it might melt off.

"I'm Niro." Sasuke fibbed flawlessly. The boy simply stared dumbly at the proposed hand. The fine tether snapped.

"Typically, civilized people also greet each other by shaking hands, less they be considered rude and incompetent."

The boy stole a cautious step back. "You're one of those assholes from the water country trying to take us over, aren't you? Don't lie! I heard you and your cronies!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, his hand retreating to his side. The boy was terribly, terribly dumb, but more attentive then he would've liked. He silently prayed the rest of the village was as idiotic as he.

"No, no, no," Sasuke reassured him lightly, his grin widening with synthetic mirth. "I'm with a group of salesmen—we're here searching for unusual items and business."

Sasuke enjoyed watching the emotions that washed over the boy's face. First, his eyes widened with astonishment, then ogled him skeptically, and then finally narrowed in anger. He had to admit, the boy was adorably childish. Sasuke felt an amalgamation of queer sensations of resentment and desire at the naivety. He had never had a chance at a childhood—he had been bound by his parent's death to grow up quickly so he could face Itachi with an un-tremulous eye. He had been obliged to hurl his innocence away to learn the dark splotches of life that had been previously veiled. Gawking at the blue-eyed boy in front of him—the scowling symbol of everything he had shed to be reborn more formidable, he found himself, truthfully, wanting to be near it again—enveloped in it's serene white cover.

"Liar!" The boy cried again, waving his finger once more.

"What is your name?" Sasuke asked softly, stepping forward involuntarily, as if controlled by another force entirely. The boy's glare eased as he stumbled backwards to affirm the space between them.

"Naruto," The boy declared defensively, his eyes expanding, composing two rippling blue ponds.

"Well, Naruto." Sasuke purred, raiding the space in between them swiftly. Naruto jumped slightly and backed straight into the tree he had previously plunged from.

"Perhaps you could show me around, hm?"

"Hell no!" shouted Naruto. Sasuke wondered why the boy felt the need to scream every reply. _Must be a disorder, _he mused in his muddled mind.

"Why not?" The young leader inquired, halting inches away from the blonde boy. He could see Naruto's sun drenched skin, which was completely flawless save the three curious markings on either side of his cheeks. He could also feel Naruto's labored breath dissipating against his neck and it sent a stream of chills down his spine. His hands and arms seemed to be bandaged in white linen and were currently balled with the effort of thinking himself out of his present situation. Suddenly, Sasuke felt a tepid ribbon curl around his stomach—he felt transiently un-hungry—whole—complete.

"Because…" Naruto stated softly, turning his head away from the extreme closeness.

"Because…" repeated Sasuke.

"Because you're a damn bastard!"

Somewhere in his lower extremities, Sasuke felt an immediate pain and Naruto took the frenzied moment to duck away and sprint off. The little bitch had kicked him in the shins, but it did not upset him as much as the sudden hole in his stomach. He felt as if an icy depression had erupted in his belly and it was leisurely sucking all his organs into its abyssal depths. Watching Naruto's vibrant orange shirt fly away in the dying, gold sunlight, he was overcome with an awful sadness. It was like he was watching powerlessly as his childhood eluded him again—and he was left to the callous hands of the night.

-----------

For the next week, life churned on with its standard rusted cogs. Naruto mostly stayed out of the forest, alarmed he would run into the bizarre man again. _Wasn't it Niro?_ He couldn't really remember what the man's name had been, only that not a drop of truth had dripped from his lips that night. _He's up to something…_

However, his mind could not free the image of Niro, for Naruto had never seen someone so—foreign. Fair skin and raven hair were characteristics typically found in the extreme western regions which were miles and miles away and seemed to only exist inside of storybooks. His eyes had been such a reflective dark brown that they had manifested the appearance of two glimmering holes that blinked. Even as strange as they were, they still seemed a tad familiar. Laced around the edges of those midnight orbs was a terrible loneliness Naruto knew from the mirror he peered into everyday. That still didn't change his impression of the queer foreigner and so he had taken to diving into alleys when he would see Niro casually strolling down the street, surrounded by his cronies. One day, however, he wasn't quite quick enough.

"Naruto?" A painfully familiar voice resonated from behind him making him jump wildly. He reluctantly turned around and faced those black eyes glinting with a suppressed smirk. Niro seemed like the type of man who couldn't genuinely smile; the two times he'd seen him crack a grin, they had seem more like condescending sneers, as if he was always seven steps higher then Naruto. He emitted another lofty leer now and Naruto became so irked that he just wanted to take his foot and shove it so far up his—

"Just the man I needed." Niro stated his smirk extending. Naruto felt as if he was staring into the face of a sardonic wolf. "No longer bandaged I see."

Naruto crossed his healed arms and scowled. "They're better, but I have to go—"

"Come with me. I need an escort to go to the east side of the village and into the forest."

"Hell no!"

Niro tsked. "I've just visited with your village head Ms. Tsunade and she recommended you to help me scout out two rare articles I'd like: a golden tea kettle that pours poison tea and a rare herb found only in your forest."

"Why would I do anything that hag says? She's not my mother! She only 'recommended' me cause she knows I'll hate it."

"Well," Niro began, his eyes glinting peculiarly. "She told me she would give you something good in return for your adequate compliance."

Naruto's irritation ceased abruptly. Something good could mean a number of things: a free bowl of ramen, two bowls ramen, maybe even three bowls of ramen…But it could also mean her delivering the obscure secret behind his vacant memory of that night; the reason why he was so tired now, and why his arms didn't heal as fast as they should've—and why the villagers harbored an intense fear of his company.

"Fine," Naruto growled, cursing Tsunade desperately. He began to amble away, attempting to keep a precautionary 5 ft between him, Niro, and his mindless, voiceless goons.

"Asshole…" he murmured.

Huffing, he reluctantly marched them where they fancied; He waited outside impatiently kicking rocks as they traveled from house to house inquiring, he supposed, about the dreaded poison tea pot. They seemed to be having trouble locating it for they arose from the final house looking weary and peeved.

"Any luck?" Naruto interrogated cheerfully, an impish grin flickering on his lips. He knew full well they hadn't had a bead of fortune from the expression engrained on their face. Nothing strange or exotic existed inside Konoha.

Niro's eyes constricted into a slight glare, but his lips retained their simper. "Well, let's try and make this day slightly valuable by searching the forest next."

Naruto sighed and punted a rock furiously, straight into a window. A portly woman with a large fleshy blob for a nose emerged from the window's remnants, bandying an ominous looking ladle. He bolted with the others striding swiftly behind him.

He led them into the forest on the west side, where he had had his initial encounter with the raven haired man pacing behind him. Naruto found it odd that he and his buddies didn't speak; they all seemed to contain giant elongated sticks up their rectums. He had seen half a dozen that night in the tree but today, only three escorted him: A seemingly lazy man with a ponytail; a severe looking man with white eyes; and a man who came across as a wild dog with bold red markings etched on his face. Naruto was relieved of their company when he reached a clearing with a diminutive mountain of jagged rocks to which he hobbled up and sat a top.

"We're in the middle of the forest." He said, swinging his legs back and forth. "Hurry up and find what you're looking for—I'm hungry."

They searched the woods for about an hour as best as he could tell; he knew his grumbling tummy had thought it had been years. When he felt as if his stomach had finally shriveled up into a bean, they returned and circled at the base of the small rocky heap.

"We'll meet back at camp in an hour, understood?" Naruto heard Niro insist firmly. They bowed their head respectively and disappeared into the trees. He couldn't believe those people would take that—Niro seemed more like a general then a jolly salesman.

"How's the view from up there?" The foreigner yelled up to him. Naruto chose to ignore him. _Maybe he'll go away. _Instead, he slowly began to ascend the rocks with an effortless grace Naruto was forced to note. He missed the small pebbles that made the clumsy blonde slip and slid over the larger rocks craftily. He soon settled on the same rock as Naruto, too close for his liking.

"How long have you lived here?" Niro inquired after a few ticks of silence. Naruto's initial planned reply was to be "none of your business, ass-face," but having someone so close that wasn't deathly terrified of his companionship was actually kind of –nice. It even made him feel slightly warm, like the trees and the animals did.

"All my life."

"With your parents?"

"Nope. They're dead." Naruto chirped casually. He could tell Niro was taken back by his indifference. _It's not like I ever met them or anything…_

"Then who was it that bandaged your arms the other night?" Questioned Niro, gazing at him curiously.

"Tsunade." Naruto felt his face scrunch up in dislike. "The village leader, you know. Sometimes she thinks she has to do things for me because the village is mean a lot, but she shouldn't—I heal fast."

"I'm sorry." Niro said so softly, his words were almost engulfed by the cool draft.

"About what?"

"Your parents. I understand." Naruto felt almost displaced by Niro's deep tenor that reverberated somewhere in chest. Those scarce words seemed to be the only truth the foreigner had divulged since Naruto and he had met. They sat together, wordlessly curled into shadows warped by the scarlet hands of the sunset. After the sun had retreated into the soil and a lavender blanket veiled the sky, Niro stirred.

"I should be leaving." The haughty man affirmed cordially, clapping his hand over Naruto's to signify his departure. The tepid touch flung fire through his veins. Not many people touched Naruto if they could help it, so even the slightest skin contact made him feel unbearably warm. He waited patiently for Niro's hand to lift, but it didn't. Prepared to cuss him out quite raucously, he turned his head to the raven haired man, opened his mouth to liberate a curse, but stopped. Niro's wan face contrasted brilliantly with the night sky—his face seemed to be the moon itself, radiating softly with an unearthly astonishment. Thin, sturdy fingers on his hand gently traced the only scar Naruto had ever acquired. His insides were ablaze with the touch and the fiery sensation, almost overwhelmingly so. He abruptly snatched his hand away, gaping quizzically at the strange, getting stranger, man.

"Naruto…"He uttered quietly, his dark eyes shining with some foreign emotion Naruto could not discern. "How did you attain that scar?"

"This one? I don't really remember." Naruto fibbed, examining the turgid, glossy line that cut across his hand. "I was really, really little and I—" Naruto felt his insides contract. "I just dunno."

Niro's bright white face cracked its typical mocking grin, or smirk—only it seemed wider and more earnest this time.

"Naruto, I believe I'll need your help again tonight."

"What?" Naruto cried. "Hell no! You blackmailed me the first time."

"No, Tsunade said she'd give you something—"

"I don't care!" Naruto huffed. "She already owes me. I'm hungry and tired and I've escorted your dumbass enough."

"Well," Niro asserted, his eyes glinting. "I'll show you something special."

Naruto's eye brows furrowed. "What?" He grunted.

"A secret—I'll show you something secret—something no one has ever seen before." Disclosed the foreigner, his leer extending dangerously.

"What kind of secret?"

"I can't tell. It's a secret, remember?"

"But I'm hungry!" Naruto whined, rubbing his tummy miserably.

"Then meet me back here in two hours and I'll go and get it."

Naruto watched him skeptically and Niro seemed to notice, however his simper still remained tightly intact.

"…Is it really amazing?"

"Yes."

"…Really?"

"Yes."

"…Really, really amazing?"

"Yes!"

"Really, really, really---"

"Look!" Niro yelled, glowering at the blonde fiercely. "It's simply grand. Meet me back here in two hours—not a minute later—and I'll show you and then you can help me for only one second."

After a few moments of contemplating, Naruto concluded he'd do it.

"Fine…"He grumbled.

_What else do I have to do after I eat? _He rationalized. _Besides—I hate secrets. If I know it, it won't be a secret anymore._ And with a childish merriment, he leapt from his spot and descended the rocks, awkwardly slipping once or twice, but making it down in one piece. He looked up one more time to see Niro watching him closely with a jovial glint in his eye. He shook his head. _What a weird ass. _

----

After three hearty bowls of ramen, Naruto finally determined his stomach was adequately filled. He glanced to the clock on the wall which read sometime past ten a' clock (he wasn't to good reading the tiny minute hand). Sighing, he placed his bowl in the sink and seized his jacket from the back of the chair. It was time to meet Mr. Tight-ass and he reluctantly left his apartment and trekked the dim streets of Konoha. While everything on the west side of town closed at six, the east side seemed to activate at sunset. The roads were lit with pink and green paper lanterns and shady businesses opened their corrupt doors to hordes of costumers, unafraid of anyone reprimanding their dirty night deeds. Personally, Naruto was frightened to take a stroll into its bright avenues, for people usually stared at him with a strange flick in their eyes—not hate or fear; it seemed like some sort of odd greed. He didn't like it at all; it made him chilled all over, as if ice was rolling down his back. So tonight, he chose the long quiet streets as opposed to the east side short cut.

When he reached the entrance to the forest, he halted suddenly. The outside seemed more eerie at night; the trees resembled tall, creepy monsters with spindly arms and wild hair. Mustering as much courage as he could find, Naruto swallowed hard and trotted into the alarming woods. Inside, he could hear the ghastly calls of feral beasts and the tree limbs seemed to snatch at his clothing. His bravery reserves drained out of him and he began to sprint desperately to the center clearing. When he finally arrived, he was thirty minutes later then he should've been; he hadgotten lost several times in the darkness.

"Hello?" He called timidly out to the seemingly barren clearing. The moon's luminosity lit the empty space, casting bizarre shadows across the tiny rock mountain. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Yo! Asshole! I'm here."

This time, a rustling noise answered him. Expecting Niro's smirking face to emerge from the murky depths, he wasn't worried. But, the face that appeared was definitely not Niro's.

"Hey, he's here." Naruto recognized the man from Niro's goon group earlier today. His lazy eyes watched him intently, as if he was a mildly interesting display. Four other men appeared out of the shadowy foliage and began gazing at him in a similar manner.

"Where's Niro?" He asked, slightly put off by the stares. A couple of their faces split a grin—No, they were leering, just like Niro.

"Niro? Well, he's off right now, but were here to keep you company until he comes back. Why don't you follow us?" A sinister man with a tidy beard conveyed, stepping forward and presenting his hand. Naruto instinctively took a pace back.

"I'm not going anywhere."

The creepy man's sneer fell unceremoniously, leaving him to simply glare.

"Niro will be back shortly, if you'll just—"

"No, damnit. It's cold and I'm tired and if he isn't going to tell me his stupid secret now, I'm leaving." He turned to stalk away, but his arm was seized. Glancing around, he was shocked to be staring straight into two completely colorless eyes.

"You can't leave." He declared, his steel grip tightening almost painfully.

"Like hell I can!" Naruto spouted, retching his arm violently from the man's hold. Surprisingly, it swung free and he took advantage of the puzzling moment to dash into the trees, in direction of Konoha.

Naruto wasn't the fastest of runners, but he definitely wasn't the village turtle either. He tore through the trees at a startling speed, the dead leaves whipping up about him like snapping fish. He didn't know exactly why he had started running; something about those people made his innards ice over and he felt an overwhelming need to hurry back to the village, where he would be miserable but completely safe.

Suddenly, on either sides of him, he saw the men from the clearing darting beside him. Naruto was in awe at their perfect strides and their faces vacant of any measure of discomfort. They seemed perfectly natural running, like a gang of animals pursuing their prey.

"Catch him!" He heard them cry.

"Grab the kid!"

One or two leaped at him, stretching out in the air like a cat, but Naruto ducked behind a tree before he could be caught. He was getting closer to the village and with it, the sudden pungent scent of burning wood. He sped up.

When he exited the forest, he was almost blown off his feet by a searing hot wind. All of Konoha it seemed was on fire. Every building in Naruto's line of view was dominated by thrashing red flames, the orange embers soaring through the air like fiery snowflakes. His knees became shaky and weak, and he fell unto them, overwhelmed by the image of his life on fire.

"Terrible isn't it?" A deep tenor resounded from behind him. He glanced around and found Niro to be watching the fire with poignant, wistful eyes. "One third of your village will burn alive tonight." Naruto's eyes widened as his heart thudded mightily in his chest. Niro walked forward and squatted next to him, closely.

" Mother's will loose daughters, husbands will loose wives, sister's will loose brothers, children will loose parents …All of them will cease to exist and become small poison memories in the veins of those left behind."

"Wh-Why?" Naruto choked, his vision becoming foggy with tears. All thoughts escaped him—Each one seemed to leak out his ears before he could comprehend it.

"Because my brother has a dream." The foreigner alleged listlessly, his voice frighteningly detached. He shifted closer to Naruto, putting his lips unto his ear. Naruto was too overwhelmed with the heat of the fire to acknowledge the touch. Niro whispered slowly into his tender ear.

"Tonight, the memory of you will burn in this place and I will take you away."

Suddenly, a terrible surge of panic materialized in his chest, and he jolted up and began to run away. He had to get away—He had too—he didn't want to die, not yet—not yet.

But strapping arms snatched him from behind and held him steady. He trashed frantically—he didn't want to die. He didn't want to die!

"Shhh," The unnatural sugary voice purred the sibilance in his ear. "It's going to be okay. I won't let you go. Shhhhhh. "

Naruto found himself abnormally weak all of a sudden, and he felt himself being lowered to the ground. _Is this death? _Another rush of terror flooded him, but he could not accumulate the strength to lash out anymore. He registered scarcely in his hazy mind that his head was in Niro's lap. He looked up, directly into the treacherous foreigner's eyes. They looked—scarlet—florid as the flames flickering behind him. He watched fuzzily as they seemed to swirl.

He was dying; he had to be, but it simply felt as if he was falling asleep. He stared past Niro's pallid face, at the fire blazing liberally behind him. His world was burning away; his vision was becoming cloudy. He blinked groggily and shifted his vision back to Niro.

His eyes were burning him—burning him alive with their terrible heat. Burning, burning, burning.

"Shhh, I won't let you go."

Naruto's eyes finally closed.

_

* * *

The end author's note: Sasuke's fake name, Niro, actually means talentless samurai or something like that. I thought it was nice and ironic. I'm going to start updating in the Friday-ish area, which really means I'm going to update on a day ending in "-day". Ew, my toes are tickling and you can't itch them without them tickling more. Thank you for reading! Eee, review! _

(Sorry for the lateness….The site wouldn't let me log in. It was done by Thursday, I promise. Then I was deniiiieeeddd.)

-_Jane. _


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